On Thursday, April 19, 2007, approximately 300 U.S.-based pension plans, endowments, foundations, private equity fund managers, and other industry participants convened in Houston, Texas for the inaugural "Credit Suisse Small and Emerging Private Equity Manager Conference. The Conference was hosted at Rice University's Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management.
Credit Suisse's Customized Fund Investment Group, in partnership with Bracewell & Giuliani LLP and Rice University's Jones Graduate School, organized the Conference to provide a forum for constructive discussion among small and emerging private equity managers ("SEMs) and key institutional investors active in the space. Topics addressed included the construction of SEM investment programs; emerging investment opportunities spurred by changing demographics in the U.S.; regionally-targeted investment programs; sourcing the best SEMs; and SEM investing opportunities in 2007 and beyond.
U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Alphonso Jackson commented in his keynote speech: "I am delighted to see Credit Suisse expanding opportunities for women and minorities in (its) Small and Emerging Manager programs. This program is a great credit to your institution¦It is extremely important to have a diversity of perspectives in the meetings and conversations that bring investment into our cities.
"At a time when most of the market is focused on large private equity transactions, Credit Suisse is pleased to spotlight through this Conference the opportunity that exists to invest in funds where greater market inefficiencies exist with prospects for outsized returns, said Michael Arpey, Co-Head and Managing Director of the Credit Suisse Customized Fund Investment Group, the private equity fund of funds division of Credit Suisse Alternative Investments.
"The momentum we have experienced for this event is a strong reflection of the increasing appetite we continue to experience among our clients for additional exposure to SEMs, said Kelly Williams, Co-Head and Managing Director of the Credit Suisse Customized Fund Investment Group.
"As fiduciaries, diversification is very important to the success of our investment program, and emerging managers expand our universe of investments. Empirical evidence has shown that over time, emerging managers perform as well, if not better, than traditional firms, said Mr. Jarvis V. Hollingsworth, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Teacher Retirement System of Texas ("TRS) and a Partner in the Houston, Texas office of the law firm of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, in his opening remarks. "Moreover, our emerging manager program also increases our relationships with women and minority-owned private equity firms. These emerging managers are extremely important to our program at TRS."
Speakers and panelists participating in the Conference include investment officers from Teacher Retirement System of Texas, the Office of the State Treasurer of Connecticut, the Indiana Public Employees' Retirement Fund, the New Jersey Division of Investment, the Office of the Comptroller of the City of New York, New York State Common Retirement Fund, Venture Michigan Fund and the Michigan Strategic Fund.
About the Credit Suisse Customized Fund Investment Group
The Customized Fund Investment Group (CFIG) at Credit Suisse is one of the largest and deepest investment teams dedicated to private equity fund investing. The Group is co-headed by Michael Arpey and Kelly Williams, who founded CFIG in 1999. CFIG manages over $17 billion in commitments to private equity funds of funds, both in the U.S. and internationally. CFIG's 78 professionals are based at the Group's offices in New York, Zurich, Chicago, Columbus, Detroit, Indianapolis and Portland. CFIG currently manages over $2 billion of customized small and emerging manager assets for sophisticated institutional investors including Teacher Retirement System of Texas, Virginia Retirement System and New Jersey Division of Investment.
As one of the world's leading banks, Credit Suisse provides its clients with investment banking, private banking and asset management services worldwide. Credit Suisse offers advisory services, comprehensive solutions and innovative products to companies, institutional clients and high-net-worth private clients globally, as well as retail clients in Switzerland. Credit Suisse is active in over 50 countries and employs approximately 45,000 people. Credit Suisse's parent company, Credit Suisse Group, is a leading global financial services company headquartered in Zurich. Credit Suisse Group's registered shares (CSGN) are listed in Switzerland and, in the form of American Depositary Shares (CS), in New York.
For more information about Credit Suisse, visit: www.credit-suisse.com
About Bracewell & Giuliani LLP
Bracewell & Giuliani LLP is among the nation's most prominent law firms. With 400 lawyers in New York, Texas, Washington, D.C., Kazakhstan and London, Bracewell is distinctively positioned to serve clients concentrated in the energy and financial services sectors worldwide. In 2005, former New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani joined the firm as a senior partner. His international reputation for leadership and problem solving is a unique asset for our clients, which include Fortune 500 companies, major financial institutions, leading private investment funds, governmental entities and individuals. Bracewell & Giuliani's Private Equity Group is comprised of merger and acquisition, finance and bankruptcy specialists, with a particular focus on transactions and financing sources involving private equity firms. The Group's expertise includes finance, real estate, environmental, tax, labor and ERISA, intellectual property and other areas of law essential to assessing the value of a target company and properly structuring transactions.
For more information about Bracewell & Giuliani, visit www.bgllp.com
About the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University
The Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management is one of seven academic units of Rice University, one of the world's best teaching and research universities. The Financial Times 2007 survey ranked the Rice MBA program the best in Texas and among the top ten business schools in the world for finance.
Rice offers the MBA, MBA for Executives, and MBA for Professionals degrees as well as joint MBA degrees in mechanical engineering and medicine. The Jones School also provides a full schedule of non-credit executive education and customized courses for business and industry. The wooded campus is located in Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city, second only to New York in Fortune 500 headquarters.
For more about the Rice MBA, visit: www.jonesgsm.rice.edu
About the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development, and enforces the nation's fair housing laws.
For more information about HUD and its programs, visit www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov
